Showdown
by Kelly of the midnight dawn
Summary: Two men who love the same woman.  One woman pining for only one man.  Three people on one undercover assignment to catch an arms dealer.  One woman in danger.  Can Elliot and Dean save her?
1. Chapter 1

**Showdown**

**Chapter 1:**

**Disclaimer: One day, I'll win the lottery and on that day, I may actually convince Dick Wolf to sell them to me but until then, I don't own them.**

**A/N: Okay, here's my next project. In "Fooling Ourselves" I explored the possibility of an Olivia and Dean relationship but I never had Elliot and Dean butt heads over the woman that they adore. I figured it was about time to write something like that. A little conflict makes for a lot of drama. I hope you like it.**

"You're an ass," Dean Porter glared at Elliot "Why did you even tag along on this op? We didn't need you!"

"I don't trust you Porter," Elliot growled at the other man "I'm here to make sure that my partner is safe."

"She's safer with me than she ever was with you," Dean retorted, his voice filled with hatred.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Elliot snarled. Even though Olivia had long since gone down to the party, the two men remained in the hotel room, arguing.

"I'd never hurt her the way you have," Dean answered fiercely.

"I never hurt her," Elliot ground out, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. He was about to hurt Dean, that was for sure.

"Pay attention to yourself once in a while," Dean suggested as he turned and grabbed his suit jacket "You're killing her and you don't even know it." His voice was more sad now than angry.

Elliot grabbed his own jacket "I don't trust you to protect her. I care about her and I won't let anything happen to her," he said firmly.

"And your wife?" Dean shot at him. When he was answered only with silence he continued "You can't have both of them. I'm not sure what it's doing to your wife or if she even knows but I can tell you that it's too much for Olivia."

"Ex-wife," Elliot corrected softly as he fixed his tie, anger now gone from his voice. What Dean was saying rang true.

Dean turned and looked Elliot straight in the eye "I'm telling you right now that I love Olivia and I will never hurt her. I'm also not going to stand by and watch her destroy herself over you."

"What are you talking about?" Elliot asked, bewildered as he and Dean left the hotel room and headed downstairs to the party.

"She loves you, you idiot," Dean had to bite back a scream of frustration "Just wanted to let you know before I make my move."

"Don't be stupid," Elliot reminded him "Don't make your 'move' until this operation is done."

"I'm not you Stabler," Dean hissed as he stepped past the other man and pushed the doors to the ballroom open.

The room was full of ladies in long flowing dresses and men in suits and ties. Olivia was in the corner, chatting merrily with a group. Both Elliot's and Dean's gazes were drawn to her instantly. She was wearing a floor length, white gown that she had protested to profusely. Only after being convinced that it was the kind of thing that her undercover personality would choose (it wasn't so much that as the fact that the gown was extremely low cut and both men couldn't take their eyes off her) she had relented.

The two men crossed the room towards where she stood, each intending to be the first to ask her to dance with the intention of covertly gathering intelligence by perhaps passing close enough to one of their suspects to overhear a conversation. They had only made it half way across the room when Elliot noticed three men sneaking up behind Olivia. He stopped short and grabbed Dean's arm, childish competition the farthest thing from his mind now "Those are Ortega's bodyguards," he whispered worriedly.

Dean nodded "We should take it easy," he said cautiously "We can't be sure they've made us."

"Like hell we can't," Elliot hissed as he quickened his pace. He could see the looks on the three men's faces. He had a bad feeling about this. The only comfort he could take was that these men wouldn't risk grabbing her in such a public place, or so he thought.

"Don't do something foolish," Dean muttered just behind Elliot "You're gonna blow are cover."

Just then, one of the bodyguards drew his gun and fired wildly into the air. One of the bullets shattered part of one of the beautiful chandeliers that illuminated the dance floor.

It was utter chaos as people screamed and dove for cover. Elliot and Dean crouched down and darted around the bodies of guests who had fallen to the floor in a misguided attempt to protect themselves.

The other two bodyguards took advantage of the chaos and grabbed Olivia. They dragged her out the back way as the third man continued firing wildly into the air. Elliot charged after them and narrowly missed getting shot.

The last he saw of Olivia was her wide and frightened eyes as he dove to the floor. The third man ceased his barrage and retreated after his companions, leaving a confused tangle of humanity in his wake.

Elliot rolled to his side and spotted Dean a few feet away. His arm was bleeding and Elliot surmised that Dean had not been so lucky as to have dodged the bullet that Elliot had so skillfully managed to avoid.

He bent down beside Dean and applied pressure to the wound "You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Dean groaned "It's just a flesh wound. The first aid kit back in the room should be enough to patch me up," he pulled himself into a sitting position "Olivia," he breathed "Oh God," he nearly collapsed again "You were right, they made us."

"I knew this was a bad idea," Elliot told him. The guests around them took no notice of them or their conversation "There was no reason for you to drag Olivia into this and you know it," he said angrily as he hauled Dean to his feet "Let's fix you up."

"No," Dean groaned "You have to go after them."

"Uh-uh," Elliot corrected even though his heart was telling him to do just that "Never leave a man behind, no matter how much you can't stand him. Besides, if I went after them now, I'd get Liv and me both shot to hell. They need her alive for now," he fought the urge to throw up as thoughts of what they might do to force her to talk invaded his mind. "Ortega's gonna wanna know what we know about him and he's gonna want us. He can't get to us without her."

Dean collapsed on the bed and Elliot opened the first aid kit. Elliot opened the bottle of iodine and poured the entire contents on the oozing flesh wound. "Owww!" Dean hissed "Why did you have to do that?"

Elliot smiled vindictively "Don't want it to get infected," he said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Dean gritted his teeth "Sure," he said, not really buying Elliot's excuse. He brought his free hand to his forehead "This gives Ortega the upper hand. I need to get in touch with the main office."

"Great idea," Elliot said sarcastically "Agents descend on Ortega's compound and Olivia's as good as dead. Whether he's taking her there or not," he put unnecessary pressure on Dean's wound "You said you wouldn't hurt her and yet at the first sign of a problem your already willing to write her off as a lost cause."

"You think I want to do this!" Dean yelled "Ortega is responsible for too many deaths already. If we can't take him down soon, that body count is just going to grow exponentially. I don't want to throw her to the wolves but if it means preventing more unregistered weapons from making it onto the streets then I'll do it."

"All that stuff you said earlier was a load of crap," Elliot told him simply.

"It wasn't," Dean said firmly.

"Prove it," Elliot challenged "Help me get her back."

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"Detective Olivia Benson," Rudolph Ortega himself stood in front of her. Olivia was tied to a chair in a dirty room. Her eyes followed Ortega's every move carefully.

She tried to feign innocence "Who?" she asked in a tiny voice. She had to try and maintain her cover even if it was a last ditch attempt. She was Jody Starling, the wife of Victor Starling (Elliot) and sister to Edward Willis (Dean).

Ortega slapped her "Drop the act sweetheart," he snarled venomously "Don't you think I know everything about your so called husband and brother already? And that's not all I know," he told her "I know that you in real life are unmarried."

"Lucky guess," Olivia countered, obviously not impressed.

"And," Ortega continued "That your real life half brother, Simon Marsden, resides in New Jersey with his fiancé and her son. Do you want me to go into your whole tragic family history or do you believe me that I do indeed know all there is to know about you?"

Olivia fell silent and nodded.

Ortega smiled "I am sorry to have pulled you away from the party so early in the evening but, I require your assistance."

"You're not getting it," she replied evenly.

"Now that seems a little harsh," Ortega feigned hurt as he turned to an alcove beside the door of the room. The space was dark and Olivia couldn't see what he had taken hold of until he had pulled it out and held it in front of her "You should really reconsider your decision."

Olivia looked unflinchingly at the tazer. She wasn't afraid of it. She wasn't afraid of him. The FBI would take this guy down before he got anywhere near Simon or anyone else for that matter. She looked Ortega straight in the eye "I won't help you," she replied.

"Have it your way," Ortega said as he pulled the trigger and sent the volts coursing through her body. As she began to pass out he smiled above her "There are other ways of getting the information I need," he reached up and caressed her cheek as she slumped forward "Did I mention how lovely you look this evening Detective?"

**A/N: The next chapter is going to take place before Elliot and Olivia joined Dean undercover. It will hopefully explain some of what's going on now. Please review.A/N: The next chapter is going to take place before Elliot and Olivia joined Dean undercover. It will hopefully explain some of what's going on now. Please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Showdown**

**Chapter 2:**

**A/N: This chapter is for everyone who reviewed the first chapter and especially for Daniellea for her beautiful review. It made me smile so wide, especially when I finally realized the KOTMD was me LMAO!**

**Six Weeks Earlier**

Olivia looked up as Elliot walked in "How's Kathy?" she asked, trying to sound like she cared how his pregnant wife was.

"The second trimester's a bitch," Elliot said as he sat down at his desk.

"I bet," Olivia chuckled a bit. She picked up a file and handed it to him "We got a new case."

Elliot opened the file and was about to read its contents when the sound of someone clearing their throat caused him to turn around. Dean Porter stood in the doorway. "What are you doing here?" Elliot asked, not bothering to hide the fact that he was less than happy about seeing him there.

Porter ignored him. He walked passed Elliot's desk "Olivia, can I talk to you?"

"Sure," Olivia stood up "What about?"

"I need your help," Dean told her simply. He placed his hand on her arm "Can we go somewhere and talk?"

Olivia looked away "I can't right now," she said quietly "I'll meet you for coffee when I get off work."

Dean looked disappointed but nodded his understanding "Give me a call when you have the time," he turned to leave "See you later."

"Yeah," Olivia said, sinking back into her chair. She was silent for a moment before she looked up at Elliot. He had been focusing on the conversation between her and Dean and the file containing the information for their current case lay open and unread on his desk in front of him. She forced a smile "We should get to the hospital and talk to our victim," she said before standing up.

Elliot nodded and followed her out of the squad room. He wasn't about to let this thing with Porter go.

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Elliot and Olivia walked out of the hospital side by side after interviewing the victim. "She's scared," Olivia stated as she got into the passengers seat of the sedan "She knows something that she's not telling us."

"You can get her to open up," Elliot said encouragingly before he looked away "That is, if you're still here tomorrow."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Olivia asked. She wasn't angry; she knew exactly what he meant but she didn't think she had the strength to talk about it right now, especially with him.

"What do you think Porter wants?" Elliot asked as he turned a corner on the way back to the precinct.

"I never can tell with him," Olivia said, closing her eyes briefly "Maybe he's just trying to get me to go on a date with him."

"He's got a strange way of going about it," Elliot observed.

"He's persistent," Olivia tried to force a laugh. She dropped her gaze to her lap "I hope that's all it is," she added softly.

"Liv, something you're not telling me?" Elliot asked, taking advantage of being stopped at a red light to turn and look at her. He placed a hand on her arm and she looked up.

"I can't go undercover again," she admitted "I can't take it. It…" she fell silent.

Traffic began to move again and Elliot shifted his attention back to the road. Olivia didn't say anything until the next red light when Elliot turned back to her "You know you can tell me anything right?"

Olivia nodded but she didn't think she could tell him this, still, she made an attempt to force the words out "It was so lonely in Oregon. I can't do that again. I can't…" _Be away from you again, _she finished silently in her mind.

Elliot looked at his watch "It's already getting late. Cragen will probably tell us to head home. Munch and Fin are handling the witness interviews for this case and we're still waiting on the fingerprint match so we don't have anything to do. You should probably call him and see what he wants."

Olivia looked away as they pulled into the parking lot of the precinct "Fun," she exhaled sarcastically.

"Hey," Elliot said warmly "What if I give you an excuse for why you can't meet him for coffee?"

"Like what?" Olivia asked.

"I'm taking you to dinner?" Elliot suggested.

"What about Kathy?" Olivia countered with a heavy heart.

"She's got her mother running errands for her. She'll be fine," and by the way that Elliot said those words, Olivia could tell that he wasn't too happy about the idea of facing his home life right now.

"I don't know…" Olivia trailed off, thinking about Elliot's offer.

"Come on Liv," Elliot smiled "It'll be fun."

Olivia thought about it for a moment before returning his smile "Okay, I'll call Dean and tell him that I can't make it."

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The diner was nearly empty accept for the two of them and the employees. Olivia dug her fork deep into her salad "Dean wasn't happy when I told him that I had plans," she took a bite and chewed it carefully.

"Yeah," Elliot sighed, looking down at his own food "Kathy's mom wasn't too happy when I told her I wouldn't be home," he hadn't wanted his mother-in-law to be the one who answered the phone when he called but fate had not been on his side. He had only told her he wouldn't be home for dinner but between her and Kathy, they had concocted some elaborate story of their own involving him, Olivia and a hotel room in Jersey. He had flatly told them that they were both insane and hung up before his self-esteem could be broken down any further.

Kathy's mom just plain didn't like him and had been the one who had helped Kathy come to the initial decision to file for divorce in the first place. It was something she had been proposing for years but Kathy had finally been in a place where she had given in to her mother's wishes. But all of that changed when Kathy got pregnant again. Kathy's mom had moved in with them only the week before and had made every moment that Elliot was at home a literal hell on earth.

Olivia looked away "I'm sorry," she said quietly. She hadn't wanted to cause trouble but somehow, fear of whatever Dean was going to spring on her made her give in.

Elliot surprised her when he reached across the table and place a finger under her chin, turning her gaze back to face him "Don't be," he smiled softly "I'd rather be here anyway."

This just made Olivia feel worse. She didn't want to be the one responsible for taking Elliot away from his pregnant wife and his family.

Suddenly, their peaceful and intimate moment was interrupted by a sound that made both of them jump. It was the same sound that they had heard in the squad room earlier. "Excuse me," Dean Porter cleared his throat and sat down in the booth beside Elliot "Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Olivia just stared at him, dropping her fork she fought the urge to scream at him "Are you following me?" she asked accusingly.

"Not really," Dean shrugged "I needed to talk to you so… I sort of… pumped your colleagues for information."

"How so?" Olivia lifted an eyebrow in curiosity in spite of herself.

"Detectives Munch and Tutuola were more than happy to give me a list of your favorite haunts in exchange for fifty bucks," Dean replied.

"Unbelievable," Elliot muttered.

"Well, as long as I'm here," Dean smiled "I might as well tell you what… Ooh French fries," he looked at Elliot's plate and grabbed a handful, shoving them into his mouth haphazardly "You don't mind right?" he asked Elliot as fries flew in all directions.

"Well actually," Elliot started, bitterly but it was obvious that Dean wasn't really paying attention to him.

Olivia hid her face in her hands "Did your parents even bother to teach you good table manners?" she asked.

"Sorry," Dean apologized to her as he swallowed the French fries and reached for the plate again, this time taking only one. Elliot simply sat there, looking very unhappy about the whole thing. Dean finished chewing the fry before speaking again "As I was saying, I need to talk to you," he turned and looked at Elliot "Preferably in private."

"No," Olivia said a little too quickly with a hint of desperation in her tone "He stays. Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of him," if he was going to make her go undercover again, she at least wanted Elliot to know about it this time.

Both men had picked up on the desperation in her voice. Elliot was suddenly on alert, no longer caring about his pilfered fries. He made and kept eye contact with her, trying to silently reassure her that he was indeed there and that it would take a lot more than Dean Porter to make him leave.

Porter shrugged again "Okay," he conceded, trying to be as patient as possible, not wanting to do anything to upset her before he had even asked her.

Olivia relaxed noticeably. She pushed her plate away, not really hungry anymore, and folded her hands on the table in front of her "Okay," she said with a small sigh "What do you want?"

And then Dean spoke the words that Olivia had been praying that she wouldn't hear "I need you to go undercover with me-"

"No," Elliot had answered for her, turning and looking Dean straight in the eye "Find someone else," he seethed.

"Whoa," Dean pushed Elliot a few inches down the bench away from him "Take it easy there you big control freak. Why don't you let her answer for herself?"

Olivia reached across the table and grabbed Dean's wrist "Don't push him," she warned "And as for my answer, I'm gonna have to stick with 'No'."

"At least hear me out Olivia," Dean said, twisting his wrist free from her grasp "You have a chance to help take down a really bad guy and safe hundreds if not thousands of lives."

Those words made Olivia sit back in her seat "Okay," she said resignedly "I'm listening."

Dean withdrew a picture from his jacket and placed it on the table "His name is Rudolph Ortega. He's an arms dealer. Handguns, assault rifles, the occasional hand grenade."

"Seems pretty small time to me," Elliot remarked.

Dean turned to him "Don't underestimate this guy. He's responsible for more than his share of bloodshed."

"So what do you need me for?" Olivia asked, looking down at the picture. He was a rather unassuming man in appearance, clean shaven, no pronounced facial features. If it weren't for his graying hair, she would have estimated his age to be in the mid thirties instead of late fifties.

"Ortega's always looking for people to help him move his merchandise," Dean explained "People who won't arouse suspicion. Women, married couples, families, they only have to move across state lines; he never asks any of his people to bother dealing in Canada or Mexico."

"Let me guess," Elliot interrupted "You want her to go undercover as your wife."

"That was the plan," Dean replied, somewhat annoyed.

"I'm still gonna have to say no," Olivia responded as the waitress came by and took their dishes away.

Dean looked up at the waitress with a soft smile "Can I have a glass of water please?" he asked. She nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. He turned back to Olivia "Can I get you to change your mind?" he almost pleaded.

Olivia shook her head but she was finding it harder and harder to say no "I can't," she whispered and directed her gaze at the table top.

"The guns that Ortega runs are used to murder innocent children," Dean told her.

Elliot clenched his fists beneath the table. The son-of-a-bitch was playing on her humanity in the hopes that she would cave and from the pleading look that she had just flashed him, Elliot knew that it was working. He took a deep breath and blurted out "I'll go with you."

Dean laughed "No offense," he said this in such a way that it was clear that offense was definitely intended "But I don't think that you and me can pass as a married couple."

"No," Olivia began and before she had even considered what she was saying, the words had left her mouth "But Elliot and I can."

**A/N: Well, now you have an idea of who Ortega is and how all of this mess started. The next chapter is going to be more in the present and then the chapter after that one will pick up where this one left off. Hope you like it and as always, please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Showdown**

**Chapter 3:**

Olivia's eyes slid open slowly. She sat up, immediately realizing that her hands and feet were no longer tied. She took in her surroundings. She was in a small room with wooden walls that gave the place an air of warms. She sat on a bed adorned with a deep, forest green comforter. Beside the bed was a night stand with a lamp. The light from the lamp only added to the warmth of the room. There was one window on the wall across from the bed. She stood up and walked to it only to find that it was not only locked but that it had been nailed shut. She turned back to the bed, the skirt of her dress making a rustling noise as she moved. She sat on the bed and ran her fingers through her hair as she tried to think.

She was still dressed, which she took as a good sign. She lifted her dress and looked down at her legs. She didn't see any signs of bruising. She breathed a sigh of relief until the thought hit her that maybe they were waiting for her to wake up before they did anything. She shuddered.

The sound of several locks being released seemed to her like gunshots and, for a moment, filled her with the same amount of dread. The door opened and she saw Rudolph Ortega, flanked by his bodyguards, framed in the doorway. Ortega motioned to the other men to wait outside and he stepped into the room, carrying with him a small red bag. He pulled a chair that sat by the window up to the bed and sat down. He smiled at her "I see you're awake. I hope you'll be comfortable here." Olivia glared at him but said nothing. Ortega opened the bag and handed it to her.

Olivia peered inside. The bag contained a gray sweat shirt, gray sweat pants, a bra, three pairs of underwear and a pair of thick gray socks. "My prison uniform?" she inquired sarcastically.

"If you choose to think of it that way," Ortega remarked. He pointed to another door that Olivia had not noticed before because it was at the foot of the bed "There's a bathroom in there. Please, change into those clothes now. I'll wait for you."

Olivia couldn't help her curiosity "Why?"

"I need your dress," Ortega stated simply.

"Somehow I don't think it would be very flattering on you," Olivia quipped.

Ortega slapped her across the face and before she knew what was happening, he had pinned her to the bed beneath him "Funny girl," he growled. Olivia gasped and struggled against his grip; he was much stronger than she had expected someone of his age to be. He looked down at her and relaxed his grip slightly "I don't want to hurt you," he told her.

"I'm having a hard time believing that one," she managed to laugh.

"Either you change into those clothes and hand me your dress yourself or I will have my guards come in here and take it from you by force and just to warn you, right now, I'm the only thing standing between you and them holding you down and taking turns. Understand?"

Olivia slowly nodded and Ortega got off of her. She stood up and headed into the bathroom, quickly changing into the clothes that Ortega had provided. They were eerily all the right size, even the bra which was very disconcerting. She returned the spare pairs of underwear to the bag and returned to the bedroom. She wordlessly thrust the dress into Ortega's hands.

He smiled at her. She was really beginning to hate that smile. "Good," he said smoothly "I think you'll find that a little cooperation will go a long way," he got up and went to the door. At the last second he turned around to face her "Are you sure you don't want to just tell me what I want to know?"

Olivia glared back at him "What's the difference," she said quietly "You'll just kill me either way."

"Yes," Ortega agreed "And your companions as well. I suppose there isn't much incentive to help me is there? But I can assure you that the path you have chosen will mean a much more slow and agonizing death for all of you." He turned to the door and called to his guards who promptly opened it "Have a pleasant evening Detective. I will return later. Perhaps you'll be in more of a sharing mood then."

He left then, the door closing behind him and Olivia heard the sound of the many locks being put back in place. She sank onto the bed and curled up into a little ball. Her heart ached for Elliot and for Dean. She knew all too well what Ortega was really planning to do with her dress. She didn't like the idea of being used as bate to lure two people she cared about to the slaughter. She rolled on her side and stared at the wall as she felt tears burning her eyes. She let them fall unchecked. Life, and especially now, her life, was too short not to ignore true feelings.

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"We need a plan," Elliot said, pacing the hotel room. He would like nothing more than to be able to charge in with guns blazing and rescue Olivia but he wasn't an idiot. Even with Dean, they were outnumbered. Who wasn't to say they wouldn't be shot on sight? They needed the element of surprise on their side.

"We don't even know where they took her," Dean protested from the bed where he still lay, trying to recover fully from not just the gunshot wound but Elliot's rather unsympathetic method of treatment. "Damn," he hissed rolling onto his side "I think you poisoned me with that iodine."

"I did not," Elliot said angrily "Stop being a baby. If I wanted to poison you with it, I would have poured it down your throat." He would have said something else regarding if they had any more iodine and if Dean was thirsty but there was a knock at the door.

The two men looked at each other for a long time. Each one seemed to know that whatever was on the other side of that door couldn't be good. Elliot got up and crossed the floor. He unlocked the door and opened it. He saw no one; he peered down the hallway in both directions but saw no one. It wasn't until he had looked down that he saw it. A plain white box sat in front of him. He picked up the box and brought it back into the room with him.

"What's that?" Dean asked, propping himself up on his elbow.

"Someone left us a present," Elliot remarked as he lifted the lid off of the box. He inhaled sharply and almost fell backwards on the bed before recovering. He reached in and pulled out Olivia's dress. He held it up so that Dean could see.

"Oh God," Dean whispered. His eyes began to mist over "Those bastards. What did they do to her?"

Elliot studied the dress carefully as he fought to remain professional, an almost impossible feat. "Nothing yet I think," he said pensively "Look," he indicated the dress "There's no blood, it's not torn anywhere. She had to have taken it off herself," he only prayed that that was the case and that she hadn't been harmed immediately after that.

Dean relaxed and Elliot cast the dress aside on the bed; something else at the bottom of the box had caught his eye. He reached in and pulled out a disposable cell phone with a note taped to the back of it. He removed the note and unfolded it. He read it aloud for Dean's benefit "Expect to hear from us soon," he said slowly.

No sooner had Elliot read the note than the phone began to ring. Elliot reached for it but was intercepted by Dean "I'll talk to them," Dean said firmly.

"No way," Elliot objected, attempting to take the phone back from him.

"You idiot," Dean hissed "What sort of experience do you have with this type of thing?"

"More than you do," Elliot ground out as he tried to slap the phone out of Dean's hand.

"Back off," Dean warned "I'm gonna answer it. If no one answers it and it goes to voicemail, they might kill her, so no more arguing." Elliot retreated to his side of the room but listened intently to Dean as he answered the phone. "Hello," Dean began in a neutral tone. There was silence for a moment and then he replied in a voice of forced calm "Okay, we'll be there," and hung up the phone.

"We'll be there?" Elliot asked dryly as he glared at Dean.

"The parking lot in ten minutes," Dean told him "Dark Ford in the handicap space. They expect us to meet them there."

"Who is 'them' exactly?" Elliot had a pretty good idea but still, he couldn't tell. He wasn't entirely sure that Dean wasn't somehow in on this whole thing.

"Two of Ortega's bodyguards, they're going to take us to Olivia," Dean answered.

Elliot nodded, going over to his bag and grabbing his trench coat. The long coat would easily hide his gun and maybe, if he was lucky enough, he could somehow catch Ortega off guard when they got there. "Let's go," he said, turning to Dean.

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Olivia heard the locks being undone. She hurriedly wiped her eyes on the inside of the sweat shirt's collar before pulling herself into a sitting position. The door opened and Ortega strode confidently into the room, closing the door behind him. He took his seat beside the bed "I just thought I'd let you know that your friends will be here soon. If you tell me what I want to know now, I promise their deaths will be quick and painless. If not…"

Olivia glared at him. A swift death did nothing but completely obliterate the hope of salvation for any of them "I won't tell you anything," she stated simply.

"I am sorry to hear that," Ortega told her as he got up "Perhaps your friends' tongues will be loosened when they see what I've got in store for you."

Olivia exploded with anger. There was no way she was going to let him use her in his twisted little game. She launched herself off the bed at him and through him off balance.

Ortega was too surprised by the suddenness of her attack to react. Before he knew it, he had fallen backwards and hit his head on the windowsill. He slipped into unconsciousness almost instantly. Olivia turned and bolted for the door; she hadn't seen Ortega's bodyguards outside when he had entered but that didn't mean that they weren't still out there. She just hoped she could make it past them.

The hallway was empty. She looked both ways, trying to decide what direction to go. When she saw one of Ortega's bodyguards coming down the hall on her left, the decision was made for her. She ran as fast as she could, all the while hearing the heavy footsteps behind her. She was a good deal ahead of him, she just hoped she could keep that lead long enough.

She reached a staircase and ran down it. Eventually she found a door that lead to the outside. She took it and ran for the woods. As she fled, the thick socks providing her feet some protection, she was glad that Ortega had made her change into the sweats; she didn't think she would have been able to get as far as she had if she'd still been wearing her dress.

She tripped over a fallen tree and went flying. She lay silent, face down in the dirt, listening for any sound that indicated a pursuer. She heard nothing. She sighed and allowed herself to relax for the moment.

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Denison and Martin sat in the car, waiting for the two men to emerge from the hotel. "Remember," Denison reminded his colleague "Ortega wants them alive so they can tell us what they know."

"Right," Martin responded "But once we find out how badly they've compromised us, then we can tear them apart," he smiled vindictively.

"Right," Denison licked his lips "But it's not them that are gonna be the real fun."

Martin nodded "Yeah," he agreed.

At that moment Denison's cell phone began to ring. He flipped it open "Yeah," he said in a detached voice; his mind was far away, in a small bedroom with a certain woman.

"The bitch escaped!" it was Sanders' voice.

"What?" Denison said angrily "How?"

"I don't know," Sanders said, his voice conveying his anger at the situation "I came down the hall and I saw her running for it. She knocked Ortega out. You guys gotta get back here, now. I don't think I can catch her on my own."

Denison sighed "Alright," he put the car in gear just as the two men they'd been waiting for appeared "Change of plans," he explained to Martin as he peeled out of the parking lot.

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Elliot started to chase after the car out of pure desperation. He soon realized that it was hopeless and fell to his knees just as Dean caught up with him.

"What the hell was that about?" Dean asked, bewildered.

Elliot's shoulders sank as he felt gravity taking over "I'm not sure," he whispered hopelessly.

**A/N: Next chapter will be more of the back story. Thanks to all of those who've reviewed so far and keep those wonderful reviews coming, please? Love you all!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Showdown**

**Chapter 4:**

**A/N: I promised I'd have another chapter of this soon and here it is. I don't know how good this chapter is though because I've found myself focusing more on what's happening in the present than what's happened already. I may decide to just write in the present and have characters have flashbacks from now on. We'll see. In the meantime, enjoy.**

Olivia's jaw dropped when the realization of what she had just said hit her. Elliot and Dean were both staring at her intently. Silence filled the small space. She took a deep breath and tried to say something, anything to break the silence but no words came out of her mouth. Even if she had managed to find her voice, the words probably would have been a jumbled mess of nonsensical babbling.

Elliot coughed "It's not like we haven't done it before," he said and Olivia was glad that he had been the one to speak. Elliot shifted in his seat; he knew he wouldn't be able to take it if she left and he would give anything to go with her, to make sure she was safe; he didn't trust Dean.

"Don't you have a family to think of?" Dean asked, elbowing Elliot in the ribs.

"Yeah," Elliot nodded "But me helping to put this guy out of business is helping to make the world that my children grow up in safer," and for once in his life he wasn't as committed to those words as he was committed to helping Olivia through this. He could see it in her eyes; she needed him and she wasn't about to say it in so many words. That slip of the tongue she had made earlier was the closest she was going to get to telling him.

"Elliot," Olivia began "This assignment could take you away from them for who knows how long."

"That's right," Dean jumped in eagerly.

It was true and it was all the more reason that Elliot didn't want Olivia to go alone. He took a deep breath "I want to help out on this one," he wanted to steal a few minutes away with Olivia without having Dean there to add his two cents every other sentence.

Dean shrugged. These two people were so damned stubborn; he knew he would be the one to give in so he did "I'll drop by and see both of you later tonight," he got up and flashed Elliot a dirty look "You should be packed and ready to leave."

And just like that, he was gone.

Elliot and Olivia sat in silence for a few minutes. Their waitress brought Dean's glass of water and left it on the table and still they said nothing. Olivia was the one to speak first "Elliot, I can't let you do this," she wasn't about to have him following her to God only knew where because of something she had blurted out in a moment of weakness.

Elliot reached across the table and touched her hand "I can't let you do this alone," he said firmly.

"I'm not gonna be alone," she protested even though part of her, a none too small part, wanted to concede and let him come. "What about Kathy?" she questioned.

"She'll understand," he said quietly, knowing that that would probably not be the case "Look," he told her "I'm not about to let you disappear again. What if…?" he trailed off; he had almost admitted his deepest fear to her.

"'What if,' what?" she asked, leaning forward.

"Nothing," Elliot said hastily, tossing some money on the table before standing up "I'd better get home and pack," he turned and walked out into the night air.

Olivia ran to catch up with him, completely confused. She came up beside him and matched his strides perfectly "You should stay here," she told him "I'll be fine with Dean."

Elliot turned to her, breaking stride and stopping beneath a street light "I don't trust him," he said honestly "I'm not gonna let you do this without me."

Olivia was momentarily floored by his words "Thank you," she murmured; she had been terrified of being forced away from her life again but still she couldn't let him do this "I promise, I'll be fine."

He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder "I'm going and that's final," he smiled softly at her.

She couldn't help herself and she returned his smile "Okay," she acquiesced "I guess you'd better get home and grab your stuff. Dean didn't specify what time he'd be 'dropping by' tonight."

Elliot nodded "I'll swing by your place when I'm ready."

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"Well, look who decided to come home after all," Kathy's mother looked up from the kitchen table when she heard Elliot come in.

"Good to see you too Martha," Elliot replied dryly, heading for the stairs "Where's Kathy?"

"In bed," Martha responded "Pregnancy takes a huge strain on the body but what would you know about that?"

"Nothing," Elliot conceded, starting to walk up the stairs.

"Don't wake her up," Martha warned.

"I have to tell her something," Elliot didn't know why he felt the need to explain himself to his mother-in-law but he did anyway. It probably had something to do with Martha's imposing presence and accusing stare. Elliot sometimes thought that she'd do well in an interrogation; perps would burst into flames in front of her.

"What about?" Martha asked, standing up and moving to where Elliot stood at the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm gonna be leaving for a while," Elliot explained.

"Big surprise," Martha snorted "I wonder," she added in a more hostile than usual tone "Would this have anything to do with your partner?"

"That's not any of your business," Elliot said, taking a stand.

"Oh my dear it is," Martha said coldly "I don't see how you're planning on keeping your family together when you're never here. I don't know how you managed to worm your way back into this house but you should be damned glad that you're here. When are you planning on leaving?"

"Tonight," Elliot replied.

"If you leave tonight, I'll make sure that your family isn't here when you get back," Martha stated.

"Is that a threat?" Elliot glared at her.

"I suppose it is," Martha laughed "Now go do whatever it is you have to do and I'll do whatever it is I have to do."

Elliot nodded and climbed the stairs. He found Kathy sitting up in bed. She scowled at him "So, you're leaving?" she inquired.

"Yeah," Elliot replied as he opened drawers and took out his clothes, packing them in a bag.

"Did you knock her up too?" Kathy asked, sounding defeated.

"No," Elliot responded "It's complicated," he finished packing the bag and turned to leave.

"Mon's right you know," Kathy said quietly "If you leave tonight, don't bother coming back. Is she really worth it Elliot? Is she really worth losing us?"

"You're gonna make me choose," he said bitterly.

"You can't have both," Kathy replied "It's not fair to this family."

Elliot nodded and stared at her for a long time "I wish you could understand why I have to do this," he said softly.

Kathy turned away from him "Expect to hear from my lawyer when you get back from wherever you're going," she said with an air of finality.

Elliot nodded and left the room, stopping by each of his children's rooms to take one last look before he headed back downstairs. Martha was standing by the door, waiting for him.

"So, you're really leaving?" she asked and he could swear he heard sadness in her voice though it was covered with a lot of resentment and bitterness.

"I have to do this," he told her as he tried to push past her "It's complicated."

"She must be one hell of a woman," Martha observed "I hope she's worth it."

"Yeah," Elliot said as he stepped out of the house, leaving his family behind him "She is."

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Dean rang the buzzer for Olivia's apartment around 12:30am. He waited, shifting from foot to foot. He didn't like the idea of Elliot coming along but he could tell how apprehensive Olivia was about this whole thing and if Elliot's presence made her feel more at ease then he was willing to put up with the arrogant SOB for a while.

"Come on up," Olivia's voice came over the intercom; she and Elliot had both figured it couldn't be anyone else at that hour.

Dean climbed the stairs and walked up to Olivia's apartment door. When she opened it, he could see past her to where Elliot sat on the couch with a cup of coffee in his hand. Elliot looked so at home and Dean couldn't help but feel jealous. He walked past Olivia and set a folder on the table "It took me some doing but I've secured three new identities," he explained "We'll have to make a stop off at the federal building for the photos to go with them though."

Elliot pulled a piece of paper out of the folder and read it over "Jody Starling," he said out loud. He smiled and handed the paper to Olivia "I think this is yours."

Elliot hadn't told her about what had happened when he'd gone home to pack, only responding in the vaguest of terms when she posed questions about it. He had come straight to her apartment after he'd left his house and the two of them had been talking for a few hours about practically everything in the world except his home life.

"We'd better get going," Dean said after a few minutes. Elliot and Olivia nodded and, grabbing their bags, they followed Dean out of the apartment and to his car.

**A/N: Kind of a short chapter I know but I was in a hurry to get it up. Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna be late for therapy if I don't get my ass in gear. LOL**


	5. Chapter 5

**Showdown**

**Chapter 5:**

**A/N: Okay so this picks up with Olivia in the woods and I decided to do that thing that I talked about at the end of last chapter and included a flashback in this chapter because it's hard for me to keep going back and forth. Hope you enjoy.**

Olivia would have liked to have the luxury of time to be able to get her bearings and figure out exactly where she was but she had barely caught her breath when she heard the voices of all three bodyguards calling to each other through the woods and approaching fast.

"Screw what Ortega said!" one of them said angrily "I'll make her talk! Five minutes and that bitch will be begging me to kill her!"

Olivia pushed branches out of her way and pressed forward as fast as she could go. The woods were dark and she had no idea where she was going but she knew that stopping was not an option. She could hear them coming closer by the second. She pushed herself harder, running as fast as she'd ever run in her life. Suddenly, she tripped and twisted her ankle. She heard a nasty popping sound as pain shot through her.

She gritted her teeth and tried to go on. She was moving much slower now; every step sending shockwaves of agony through her. She didn't see the ditch ahead of her until she had fallen into it. She lay there, terrified, no doubt in her mind that they would find her at any minute. She held her breath and listened.

"Where the fuck is she?!" one of the bodyguards demanded furiously.

"I thought I saw something over this way!" another one called.

Olivia felt her heart leep into her throat. She looked up and thought she saw the beam of an approaching flashlight illuminating the branches above her. The sound of someone landing only a few feet away from her nearly made her heart stop. The beam swept the ground and finally fell across her.

"Well, well, well," Denison smiled, reaching out towards her "Look what I've found."

Olivia shrank away from him, trying to scramble to her feet. But it was useless; she knew she'd never be able to outrun him with a busted ankle. She picked up a nearby branch and held it in front of her "Stay away from me," she commanded in a low voice.

Denison laughed at her "You've got guts girly," he stepped closer to her and tried to knock the tree branch out of her hand but she whacked him across the face with it "You bitch," he seethed.

"Stay away from me," she repeated, bringing the tree branch to crash down on him once again. The small twigs at the ends of the branch sliced across his face and drew blood.

Denison was furious. He launched himself at her, tackling her to the ground, his flashlight flying out of his hand as he went "You wanna play games with me sweetheart?" he asked venomously. He grabbed her arm and began to twist it "How's this for a game?" he grinned.

Olivia gasped and gritted her teeth. With her free hand she felt around the ground, searching for something to defend herself.

"I'm going to kill you," Denison promised "I'm going to kill you slowly. I'll show you levels of pain you never knew existed."

Olivia's fingers closed around something; it was the flashlight. She took hold of it and used it to hit Denison in the face. His nose began to gush blood and he was so taken by surprise that his hands flew to his face, allowing Olivia to gain the upper hand. She rolled out from underneath him and delivered another blow to his head with the flashlight. He fell unconscious to the ground and Olivia crawled away, not daring to stand up again, hoping that the undergrowth would keep her from being noticed by the other two.

As she crawled she could hear Denison's companions calling out to him; they still hadn't found him yet which meant that she had a chance, a slim chance but a chance nonetheless. She had to figure out where she was and find someone who could help her. If she was lucky, Elliot and Dean would still be at the hotel and she could join up with them. After she'd been crawling for about an hour and a half she saw lights in the distance. She had to be near the edge of the woods. The pain in her ankle was growing more intense by the second. She took a deep breath and kept going.

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"What the hell?!" Elliot said in frustration, pounding his fist into the pavement of the parking lot. Their best chance of getting Olivia back had just sped off.

Dean sank down as well, his head in his hands "I'm such an idiot," he whispered. "I never should have dragged her into this. I should have listened and just left this alone."

"What do you mean?" Elliot asked, turning to face the other man.

Dean looked down "You should have let me call the main office when this happened," he moaned "They would have taken my badge, thrown me in jail and that would be the end of it," his face sank into an expression of absolute desolation "It's what I deserve for letting this happen."

"Wait a minute," Elliot said in realization "Are you telling me that…"

"I disobeyed a direct order by going after Ortega," Dean said quietly.

"And you dragged Olivia into this mess with you?!" Elliot seethed, trying with all his might not to strangle the FBI brat "Why in the hell would you even ask her in the first place?!"

Dean's silence spoke volumes.

"You moron!" Elliot screamed "What the hell were you thinking using a dangerous undercover assignment as a chance to get some alone time with her?! You stupid prick!" tears of fury poured down his cheeks and he tackled Dean to the parking lot.

"Don't you think I know that?!" Dean hissed "Don't you think this is the last thing I wanted to happen?!"

"I don't know what to think about you anymore," Elliot said in defeat as he stood up. He was about to head back inside the hotel when something caught his eye. At the edge of the parking lot, there was a large wooded area. Elliot thought he saw something moving. He turned around and started walking towards it.

From a distance, it just looked like a gray shapeless something, moving slowly but as he got closer, he realized that it was a person; a person he knew very well. He gasped and fell to the ground beside her "Olivia?" he whispered as he touched her shoulder gently.

"El…?" she turned her head to face him.

He gathered her into his arms "Yeah, it's me," he smiled softly.

Olivia sighed in relief and closed her eyes. She was safe now. While she had been crawling through the woods, she had done everything to keep going, fear pushing her forward, not allowing her to pass out. Now, she couldn't fight unconsciousness any longer.

"Liv…?" Elliot called softly but desperately as Dean came up beside him.

"What happened to her?" Dean inquired as he knelt down beside them.

"She passed out," Elliot explained "We've gotta get her to a hospital."

"No," Dean shook his head sorrowfully "They'll be looking for her. We can't risk staying around here. You take her to the car," he tossed Elliot the keys "I'll go grab what I can from the hotel room," he rose to his feet "If they show up before I come out, get out of here. You get her as far away from here as you can and make sure she's safe."

Elliot nodded and lifted Olivia into his arms. Dean was trying to make up for his initial idiocy. Elliot only hoped, as he carried Olivia to the car, that it wasn't too little, too late.

He propped Olivia up in the back seat and buckled her in. He bent down and kissed her softly "I'm gonna protect you," he promised. He climbed into the driver's seat and waited for Dean.

Dean appeared only five minutes after going up to the room. He jumped in the passenger's side seat "I think we'd better get a move on," he said hurriedly, tossing the small bag of things he had managed to pack into the backseat.

"What happened?" Elliot asked, noticing that Dean looked pale. He turned the keys in the ignition and sped out of the parking lot, having no idea where he was going.

"Someone's been in the hotel room since we left," he explained "One of the hotel staff probably. Ortega's got so many people under his thumb it's unbelievable," he was breathing heavily "They took my lap top and everything else we had on Ortega. I grabbed whatever I could find and got out of there."

"Tell me you got the first aid kit," Elliot demanded hopefully as he spun the wheel and turned a sharp corner, looking back every few seconds to make sure they weren't being followed.

"Of course," Dean assured him "We'll have to find someplace we can stop and get a good look at what her injuries are."

Elliot nodded "When we find this someplace safe, what happens then?"

"I call the FBI and turn myself in," Dean said simply "You and Olivia will get back to New York safely and we'll all live happily ever after," he slumped forward in his seat "I wish I could have brought him down."

"I wish you hadn't dragged us into this mess," Elliot countered.

"Nobody asked you to come," Dean shot back "We would have been just fine without you."

"Yeah," Elliot said with an edge of sarcasm.

"Well, I certainly didn't need you complicating things the way you did," Dean told him.

Elliot nodded. He had messed things up. The whole reason he and Dean had been fighting in the hotel room earlier that evening had been entirely his fault.

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Olivia had finished putting on her dress and stepped out of the bathroom to find Elliot sitting on one of the beds. He looked up and smiled at her "You look nice," he told her softly.

She walked over and sat down beside him "Thanks," she murmured, looking down at the skirt of her dress. "This is the big night," she sighed.

Elliot nodded. At the party, Ortega would be offering the Starlings a contract for running weapons from Texas to New York. It was the final piece of evidence that Dean said they needed. Elliot turned and placed a finger under her chin "You nervous?" he asked.

Olivia exhaled "Maybe a little," she admitted.

"It's almost over," Elliot reassured her "Then we can go home."

Olivia looked up at him "What happens when we get back to New York?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Elliot countered gently.

"I mean," she paused and stared out the hotel room window at the darkening sky "What happens with us?"

"I guess we just see what happens," he said quietly.

"Yeah," Olivia shrugged "We'll see what happens."

Elliot watched her for a long time. When she turned her head and they were staring into each other's eyes, he couldn't hold back anymore. He leaned forward, his lips drawing closer and closer to hers until they met in a tender kiss.

At that moment, the door of the hotel room opened and Dean cleared his throat "I'm back," he announced his presence.

Elliot and Olivia separated instantly and awkwardly. Olivia cleared her throat and stood up "We should probably get going," she said quickly "We don't want to be late for the party. With that she left the room.

"I'd better go catch up with her," Elliot said, standing up and attempting to leave but Dean blocked his path.

"What do you think you're doing Stabler?" he asked and it was clear that he was pissed off.

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Elliot had indeed been complicating things since day one but he couldn't let Olivia disappear from his life again. He turned the car down a dark country road and took a quick peek in the backseat at Olivia. She made a small moan and opened her eyes a crack.

"What's going on?" she asked hoarsely, pulling her injured ankle up off the floor and propping it up on the seat beside her.

"It's a long story," Elliot told her with a soft smile.

Dean nodded in agreement "The important thing now is that you're safe."

**A/N: Dean did a bad thing but at least he realizes it. I'll try and update again soon. To xXBlissfulCursesXx, all the sucking up helped a lot LOL and to obsessedwithstabler, thanks for all the wonderful presence but Chris can keep his underwear… actually someone else can keep it because I'll gladly take him without it… YUM!**


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